herrburger



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

J. HERRBURGER.

ACTION RAIL FOR UPRIGHT PIANOS.

No. 355,394. Patented Jan. 4. 1887.

WITN E E E E5 INVENTDR N. PETERS, Phummhu m her, Washin ton, 1.6.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. HERRBURGER.

ACTION RAIL FOR UPRIGHT PIANOS.

No. 355,394. Patented Jan. 4, 1887.

I ,w V *1/11,

WITNEEJEIES INVENTUR UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEICE.

JOSEPH HERRBURGER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

ACTION-RAIL FOR UPRIGHT PIANOS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,394, dated January 4, 1887.

Application filed June 4, 1886. Serial No. 204,111.

(No model.) Patented in France February 19, 1885, No. 167,145, and in England February 24, 1885, No. 2,497. I

T0 coZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H EnRnUReEn, of Paris, France, but temporarily a resident of the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Action-Rail for Upright Pianos, (for which I have obtained English Letters Patent No. 2,497, February 24, 1885, and French Let ters Patent No. 167,1d5, February 19, 1885,) of which the following specification is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a metallic actionrail for upright pianos,so constructed that the various pieces composing the action have a free play, while the rail itself occupies but a minimum amount of space. The rail is so constructed that two styles of action may be attached to it, one style having the catch beneath and theother at the side of the hammerloutt.

The invention consists in the elements of improvement hereinafter more fully pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side view of one style of an action provided with my improved actiourail. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the second style oi'action.

Theletterav represents the key, 0 the bottom rail, 0 thejack, d the hammer-butt, e the hammer, and f the hammer-rest rail, of an upright-piano action, all as usual. Ais the action'rail connected to the butt-flange g, and also to the bottom rail, Z), by means of fork h. This action-rail is made of iron or other metal, and is of uniform Width,cXccpting at the top, where it is tapering.

The peculiar shape of the actionrail is shown in both figures of the drawings, and is as follows: A tapering horizontal top section, '5, joins a downwardly-extending straight section, j, which terminates in a backward1y-- curved portion, is. This portion it connects with a straight section, Z, having a forwardlyprojecting horizontal flange, m, which in turn is provided with a downward extension, n. Thus it will be seen that the rail has three principal vertical or nearly vertical sections,

j Z a, of which the upper and lower sections are in line, while the central section is thrown backward, and is joined to the upper section by a curved portion, and to the lower section by a straight portion.

The uppermost horizontal portion, i, of the action-rail serves, as has already been stated, for the attachment of the butt-flange 9. To the upper straight section j there is attached the support 0 of the regulating-railp. The cavity formed by placing the section Zbackward is utilized in the construction shown in Fig. 1, for the reception of catch (1, attached to the hammer-butt (Z and co-operating with the back check, r. YVit-h this construction the curved portion 7.: ot1 l1eactionrail corresponds to the curve of catch q, and permits the free motion of such catch. The seat formed by the parts at a is designed for the reception of the fork 71 ,which is screwed to section a, and bears against section m, as shown.

In Fig. 2 the form of the rail A has thesame advantages asin Fig.1, with the exception that the catch q need not be cleared by the rail. In this figure the part l is set back so as to bring the section m in proper position above the fork I1.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of key c,bottom rail, 1), jack 0, hammenbutt d, hammer c, and buttflange g, with action-rail A, having two forwardly set upper and lower sections, 9 a, and a central backwardly-set section,l,substantially as specified.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an upright-piano-forte action-rail, A, composed of tapering horizontal section '11, straight Vertical section j, curved section is, straight vertical section Z, straight horizontal section m, and straight vertical section a, substantially as specified.

J. HERRBURGER.

Vitnesses:

F. v. BRIESEN, HENRY E. RoEnEn, 

